


Our Sails About to Be Set

by siriuslyrose



Series: Let's Be Whoever Like This [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, D3 Spoilers, Fluff, Hurt Gil (Disney: Descendants), Hurt Harry Hook, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic, Post-Canon, Post-Descendants 3, Protective Uma (Disney), pirates being pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 03:36:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20401042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriuslyrose/pseuds/siriuslyrose
Summary: Uma escapes the Isle, and when she does, most of her crew abandons ship.Only Harry, Gil and a few loyal crewmates remain. The rest run to new gangs or hide themselves until the barrier is broken.She’s not angry, she understands. On the Isle of the Lost, you need protection and the best way to get that is to join up with others. If the captain of a ship is gone, the ship doesn’t stand for much anymore.It turns out though, that Auradon is not as safe as she thought it was.There is safety in numbers, and suddenly Uma doesn’t have the numbers anymore.





	Our Sails About to Be Set

**Author's Note:**

> hi, ilysm to everyone who read the last part. it was your comments and kudos' that motivated me to write this fic. i hope that it is more of what you are looking for. 
> 
> also i wanted to give our favourite pirates a time to shine.

Hanging out with Mal’s gang and the King of Auradon at the Enchanted Lake is not a reality Uma ever saw for herself. Honestly, she never saw herself off the Isle, let alone with these people.

Despite that, Uma’s not unhappy with the situation. Gil and Harry are here, and their parents can’t get them and she feels content in a way that she has never felt before. They’re _safe_ and the comfort of being safe is enough to push any lingering worry from her mind.

Uma sighs in contentment, throwing her head back. Dizzy hisses at her.

“Stop moving. I’m almost done anyway,” she pulls Uma’s hand back towards her and continues painting her nails. After painting both Harry and Gil’s, Dizzy and insisted that they should all match. Uma didn’t feel up for arguing with a thirteen-year-old today so she sat down in a huff and let the smaller girl do as she wanted.

Uma rolled her eyes and looked around at everyone else at the lake. Mal and Evie were up by the gazebo pulling food out of a picnic basket and organising it at a table for them all to eat later. Evie laughs at something Mal says, and it’s still strange for Uma to see Mal so relaxed.

She looks over to the water where Ben is giving Jay and Carlos more swimming tips. They’re trying to pay attention to what he is saying, but they have the basics covered and even Uma can see they are getting bored with what Ben is saying.

Bored with it too, Uma gazes over at Gil and Harry instead who are getting their fortunes read by Celia.

Gil picks a card and hands it back to her. Celia rubs her hand over the card her eyes closed. She hums quietly, and Gil leans in excited.

“Your past is closer to you than you think,” she says eventually, opening her eyes. Gil and Harry stare at her blankly.

“What in the Christ is that supposed to mean?” Harry asks indignantly. Celia shrugs at them.

“The cards don’t lie,” she assures and gestures her hand out for payment. They both look at her empty palm and scan the area for something to offer her. Harry spots Ben’s jacket near Uma and Dizzy and moves over to it. He goes through the pockets until he finds Ben’s wallet and pulls out some Auradon money. He walks back over to Ceilia and drops the money in her waiting hand. She grins up at him and then offers to read his cards too.

“Don’t think my future is something either of us wanna know,” he says. Celia shrugs and comes to sit next to Uma, asking Dizzy to do her nails next.

Uma watches Harry and Gil for a little longer. She can’t hear what they’re saying, but suddenly Harry grins and they both pull off their shirts. Uma hears an intake of breath from the water and her eyes dart over to where Ben is now looking at the other pirates in shock.

She knows what he is seeing, growing up on the Isle doesn’t leave you without marks. Gil’s chest is littered with small scars; when his older brothers or father used to beat on him, they would centralise their aims to his chest. Gil explained to her once that they didn’t want to hit a face that looked so much like theirs.

Harry doesn’t have nearly as many marks, just a long jagged scar from his left shoulder to the centre of his back, and a matching one on his chest. Captain Hook’s a mean drunk.

Ben’s staring makes her feel tense, she’s about to yell something at the King. Tell him to _mind his own business_. But instead, Carlos tackles him under the water. He comes up with a laugh and immediately beings splashing back at him, effectively distracted from the pirates.

Harry and Gil climb up the rocks adjacent to the water, and both cannonball in, splashing all three boys already in the water. Uma’s itching to get in there herself.

The transition from basically living in the ocean to back on land was not one that Uma thought would be as hard as it was. It feels like she is constantly orbiting the ocean, and that it desperately wants her back. It's like an itch underneath her skin that she can't do anything to scratch. There’s a comfort to the ocean that is indescribable, a comfort that comes from being able to call it home.

But missing the ocean paled in comparison to how much she was starting to miss her ship. Since the barrier opened she’d only been back to visit the Lost Revenge a few times. It’s not like there was much left for her there at the moment anyway. The only members of her crew left beyond Harry and Gil, is Jonas, Desiree and Bonny. All three of them were staying on the ship and were looking after it.

The other members of her crew had either gone to Harriet Hook’s crew or left the pirate life behind altogether in her absence. Honestly, it’s not like she can really blame them. For most kids on the Isle being in a gang or a pirate crew was a decision made out of necessity. A choice made to build allies to be protected. If you don’t need to be protected or your crew can no longer offer you protection why stick around?

Even still, Uma misses them. She misses sleeping on the Lost Revenge, dozing off to the bickering of a dozen other teenagers that will have her back no matter what. Some days she is so thankful she doesn’t have to be there anymore, thankful she has left the Chip Shop and wharf behind. When she sleeps at night she is safe, and her crew is too, she doesn’t have to worry about being attacked when she sleeps, or her territory being taken. She can just sleep.

In the water, Carlos has climbed onto Jay’s shoulders, and Gil helps Harry onto his. They start wrestling and Ben is desperately trying to referee them, but he struggles to control the VKs. Carlos holds up surprisingly well against Harry, and Harry laughs at the challenge before knocking him in the water.

Even if she doesn’t have her crew anymore, it’s good to be back with Harry and Gil. She spent a lot of her time swimming in the Strait of Ursula worrying over them. Worrying that they weren’t being protected in her absence. Getting them off the Isle felt like one of the most important things Uma could ever do. Because now they are safe, and they get to sleep in warm beds at night, and they get to wear clothes without holes in them (because one of the first things Evie did after they sorted out the VK house was make everyone new clothes). They are okay, and it was her plan that made that happen.

Uma realises with a start that Dizzy had been rambling to her for minutes. She refocuses on what she’s saying.

“So Evie said that I can work with her at Evie’s 4 Hearts! And I’ll get paid real money for it, which I get to keep for myself!” Dizzy pauses to blow on her nails.

“That sounds really cool kid.” Uma smiles genuinely. Dizzy grins back and gestures to her nails.

“All done,” she says. Quickly moving over to Celia who has been going through Dizzy’s box of nail polish.

In the water, Harry is knocked off Gil’s shoulder and comes above the surface with a laugh.

“Hey, Mal!” Mal looks over to Uma. “Wanna show these boys how it’s done?”

Mal laughs and puts down a plate of food she was gathering and jumps into the water with Uma.

If Mal and Uma win every round after that, it’s not because they use magic, it’s because they are better then the boys and_ they just need to accept that_.

* * *

Gil and Harry are walking home from the VK house Ben had set up in Auradon. It sat at the edge of Auradon, still close enough to the Isle that any VKs coming over wouldn’t have to travel very far before finding it.

Uma had asked them to go do a headcount of the kids there tonight. She has been spending the past few weeks keeping a record of the numbers to make sure that Auradon wasn’t understaffing the house. Gil didn’t really understand the concern, but he understood Uma and trusted that if she thought it was something that needed to be watched then it probably did.

They take a short cut through the marketplace Jay showed them when they were first settling into Auradon. Harry nudges Gil gently and nods over to a stall with a sign above it that reads ‘Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna Stall’. He can see Yzma leaning over the counter, arguing with stall owner, who is keeping a calm demeanour through the encounter.

Yzma suddenly leans back and screeches, she turns, her eyes darting around the courtyard until they settle on the entrance Harry and Gil were walking towards. Yzla walks in, and Yzma growls in her direction, before storming off the opposite way, obviously being affected by the spell Uma and Mal had enchanted all the VKs with. 

Harry cackles as she storms away. Gil smiles too, he knows they are safe because Uma said they were. But still, it’s nice seeing the spell work with his eyes.

They continue walking through the marketplace and there’s a comfortable quiet between Gil and Harry. It’s the kind of silence they have spent hours together in, doing rounds on the Isle and watching over crew members. The kind of silence that Gil knows he can trust because Harry has always given him a reason to trust it.

They’re walking on a dirt road, about halfway home when Gil hears someone call out his name. He looks up and is shocked to see Gaston and Gaston Jr walking out of the forest towards them. Harry reaches out and grabs onto the back of Gil’s shirt.

“Just keep walking. It’s not like he can get to you anyway.” He says quietly, pushing Gil forward lightly. Gil feels mildly panicked but keeps walking with Harry.

“Boy,” Gaston yells, and his voice is closer than before. Gil looks behind him to see that they have gotten closer, and neither of them are showing signs of burning, or slowing down. 

“Harry,” Gil says panicked. Junior jogs ahead and blocks their path. Gil stops in his track, staring wide-eyed at his brother. In the back of his mind, Gil notes that Gaston the Third isn’t with them.

Gaston Junior moves closer to his brother and Gil feels locked in place. He feels Harry move up next to him.

Junior places a hand on Harry’s chest and Harry pushes it off with a hook.

“No thanks mate, don’t touch me.” He spits. Gaston has caught up to them now too.

Gil can his father staring him down, and once he catches his eye, Gil knows he can’t look away. Knows that if he looks away his father will use it as an excuse to say he’s not a man and punish him for it.

Gaston Junior hisses at Harry, and he’s so close that Gil can smell his aftershave. It’s a smell that Gil has always hated, and it’s even stronger now that it’s from a proper bottle from Auradon rather than from a watered-down bottle save from the garbage on the Isle.

“You haven’t checked home in an awfully long time Gil,” Gaston says dangerously. Gil swallows and hears Uma and Harry’s voice in his head from years on the Isle. He repeats their words back to him.

“Had no reason to,” then he adds, “Sir.”

Gaston nods subtly, but his expression is still firm.

“A man’s son should have enough respect for his father to check in with him.” Gil knows where this is going, he has had these conversations before. Gaston wants to teach his son a lesson, so it’s only a matter of time until he slips up and gives him a reason to. Gil doesn’t know what to do, so he just stares blankly at his father.

“A man,” Harry starts, pushing Junior backwards and holding up his hook to Gaston threateningly. “should earn respect.”

“This has nothing to do with you Hook,” Junior spits. Gil can see how manic Harry’s eyes have gone. Can see that he’s getting to the point of chaos that Uma is really the only one that can pull him out of.

“Seems like it don’t have much to do with you either Junior, yet here ye are,” Junior grabs Harry’s shirt and Harry pulls his hook up to Junior’s chin. He slowly scrapes it along his throat, and Gil feels like he can’t breathe.

“Now, now Junior. I’m sure _Harry_ here is just about to be on his way,” Gaston spits Harry’s name so condescendingly that Gil’s stomach drops. He doesn’t want to be here, wants to be at home, with Uma and Harry. And Jay, and the rest of Mal’s gang.

“I don’t think so,” Harry enunciates every word, and Gil wants to grab his shoulders and tell him to stop, to just walk away before this gets any worse. “This ain’t the Isle anymore _old man_. You don’t have any authority here. Which means.. unless you’ll be on your merry way, I think we have a wee problem.”

Harry is looking Gaston dead in the eye, and he stands so tall that Gil knows Uma would be proud. A year ago Harry would never have stood that tall against a villain, he wouldn’t have risked it without a crew of pirates behind him. And now he’s doing it for Gil.

Gil grabs the back of Harry’s shirt and pulls him back slightly, but he can practically see the cogs turning in Gaston’s head.

Gaston nods slowly, considering Harry’s words, and pulls Junior back too. Gil can see Harry’s eyes darting between the pair, his grin widening.

“Thought so,” Harry bites. Because of course, he does.

A look of rage appears on Junior's face, and he immediately swings his fist at Harry’s face. It connects and Harry stumbles back and little. Before Gil can even react, Harry swings back at Junior, and Junior falls to the ground.

Gaston growls and swings his fist in the exact way that Junior did. Only this time, when he makes contact Harry goes to the ground. Gaston leers over Harry, and Gil knows what that look means. He immediately puts himself between his father and best friend. He pushes Gaston backwards.

Gil has never defended himself against his father in his life, and now he’s doing it for Harry.

Gaston’s eyes flash. The same way his older brothers’ eyes flash when they finally get the fight they have been looking for.

Gaston pushes Gil back and tries to undercut him in the ribs. But Gaston has spent years hitting Gil, so he knows what to expect, he moves out of the way, and right into Junior's arms. He tries to fight against his brother's grip, but Gaston’s punch comes too quickly.

Gil doubles over in pain and cries out. He doesn’t have time to recover before Gaston hits the other side of his ribs. He hits him again, and again. He doesn’t hit his face, never his face.

Suddenly, someone is pulling Gaston away. Junior arms are pulled away and Gil falls to his knees for a moment and tries to catch his breath.

He’s okay, he has taken far worse beatings then this before, he just needs a moment to catch his breath. When Gil looks up, he sees an Auradon guard bent over in front of him. Distantly, he can see his father and brother being dragged away by more guards.

Gil looks over to Harry. He’s sitting up, with his head tucked forward near his knees. One hand is pressed against his face and Gil can see how white his other hand is as it clutches his hook. He can’t see his face.

It’s still hard to breathe, but it's getting a little smoother. Not by much.

“We’re okay thanks,” Gil says to the guard who doesn’t move from his hovering.

Uma says that if Gil doesn’t speak up then no one knows what he is thinking.

“Please leave us alone,” he insists. The guard looks surprised but stands and steps back. Gil doesn’t wait to see if he leaves. He turns back to harry.

“Harry, we should get goin’. Uma’ll be waiting for us.”

Harry doesn’t lookup. Doesn’t move from his position. Gil knows that something must actually be wrong with Harry if he isn’t moving and beings the slow process of getting himself to stand back up. His ribs are screaming in pain, and every movement makes breathing harder.

But he’s okay, he reminds himself. It could have been worse, he thinks.

Once standing Gil calls Harry’s name again, and Harry still doesn’t respond. Gil needs to get Harry back to Uma. Everything will be fine when they get to Uma. 

“Harry, I’m going to help you stand.” He says, before bending down to grab his friend. He pauses when his ribs are jolted, but knowing the pain won’t just disappear breathes through it and hooks his hands under Harry’s arms. He stands up and pulls Harry up with him, but obviously, it is too fast because Harry cries for him to stop.

Gil freezes, holding him up. Harry’s hook clatters to the ground, and his eyes are squeezed shut. Gil’s stomach sinks again when he sees the damage done to Harry’s face. That damage his father caused.

There’s a long cut through Harry’s left eyebrow, obviously made from one of Gaston’s rings. The area surrounding the cut, on his forehead and temple have gone red. It’s the stream of blood dripping down his face that makes Gil curse. There’s blood on Harry’s hands, and Gil can see some on the concrete.

Gil needs to get the bleeding to stop, he reaches up and pulls off his bandana. He presses it against the cut, and Harry cries in pain but lets him do it. Gil grabs Harry’s left hand, and presses it against the bandana, holding it in place. Harry’s grip is weak, but he manages to hold it there.

He is holding onto Gil for support, and Gil can feel him swaying slightly. God he needs Uma right now.

After a few moments of not moving, and of Gil getting more and more anxious Harry speaks quietly.

“Okay we can go now,” his voice is softer then Gil is used to hearing and his accent thicker. Gil’s not going to comment on it though.

Gil takes a moment to lean down and pick up Harry’s hook. He continues breathing through the pain and hooks it on his belt.

Gil’s not going to make Harry walk by himself, and is frankly far too concerned about his friend to let him try. He slides one of his arms of his shoulders and throws an arm around his waist. He crosses his other arm across his own chest, an attempt to keep his ribs still as he walks.

The twenty-minute walk takes them an hour. 

* * *

Uma is standing out the back of Uma’s cottage with Jay. She balances the sword in her hand and leaps forward at Jay, who catches it with his own sword.

Distantly the sun is setting, Uma notes. Her and Jay have been out here for hours, just practising with their swords. Jay is trying to show her the rules of ‘fencing’, but Uma is ignoring them in favour of using her pirating methods.

Jay doesn’t seem to be getting offended by her ignoring the rules though, just laughs and continues fighting back. It’s nice to be practising with her sword again, it makes her feel productive.

She knocks the sword from Jay’s hand and he grins at her, reaching down to grab it. The quiet of the inside of the house is disturbed and distantly Uma notes some yelling.

“UMA!” Evie yells, her voice panicked. Her and Jay share a concerned look and drop their swords on the grass before racing inside.

They get to the living room and Uma freezes at the sight. Mal is helping Harry down onto the couch, a purpling bruise on his face and blood dripping from beneath a bandana pressed to his forehead. She looks at Gil, standing in the doorway still, his arm is wrapped around his chest, and he’s breathing shallowly, the same way he always has when he has a rib injury.

Everyone else kind of blurs into the background of her focus.

“What the hell happened?” she demands, charging forward. She goes to Harry first, because she can see blood on him. She notes with alarm that his eyes don’t seem to be focusing on much.

Uma pushes Mal out of the way, who easily moves to the side to make space for her. She cradles Harry’s face in her hands, tilting it to the side so she can look at the cut more closely. He looks up at her, and his pupils are wider than usual. Uma repeats her question.

“What the hell happened?” She looks over at Gil, her hands still on Harry’s face. Gil looks at her with a sad expression, and she can see the confusion on his face. He opens his mouth, but closes it, not saying anything.

“Uma,” says Evie, gently handing her white piece of gauze. Uma can see the first aid kit that Carlos has brought out. “This is probably cleaner than a bandana.”

Uma takes the gauze from Evie and pulls Harry’s hand away from the cut. She resists the urge to gasp when she sees the open wound, instead focuses on her task, gently presses the gauze against the bleeding wound. Harry flinches against her hand and hisses in pain.

Harry’s eyes move from Uma’s face and over to Mal, who is standing uselessly behind her.

“Your spell don’t work,” he spits. Uma notices how much thicker his accent sound.

“What?” Mal says dumbly.

“Your protection spell. It’s supposed to stop our parents from coming near us. It doesn’t work.” Gil’s voice sounds hurt and Uma’s heart clenches.

“What do you mean? It should work! Why wouldn’t it work?” Mal asks, a little hysterically. Uma has other questions.

“Was it Gaston?” she looks over at Gil, who nods.

“Fuck.” She swears and looks back down at Harry.

“What happened to him? How did you guys get away?” Carlos asks behind her. It’s a fair question if a villain wants to incite violence, historically there hasn’t really been much that has been able to stop that.

Gil explains that a guard took them away somewhere. Then he apologies to Uma says that he was a little distracted. Uma wants to scream. She doesn’t understand why the spell wouldn’t work. It’s not Gil’s fault. He would never want his father near him, even on the Isle Gil avoided him like the plague.

None of this makes sense.

“How did this happen?” she asks turning to Mal, who looks pale and about as confused as Uma feels.

“I don’t know. It’s supposed to work. It’s worked for everyone else.” Mal says, helplessly.

“Maybe Gil didn’t want his Dad to stay away,” Celia says from the corner of the room. Uma’s eyes dart over to her. She hadn’t even realised she was in the room.

Evie quickly steps over to her.

“Okay, Celia. Why don’t you go wait with Dizzy in my design room,” she says ushering her out of the room. Uma glares at her as she leaves.

Uma looks back down to Harry, whose eyes have fallen shut.

“Hey. Hook. Eyes open,” she instructs. Harry opens his eyes, taking far longer to do so then she would like. Head injuries are scary, a bad one can mean serious repercussions and Uma doesn’t know what to do. Gil’s the one who has historically taken care of their injuries aboard the ship, but Uma doesn’t think he is in any place to be helping Harry right now.

She pulls the gauze back and notes that it probably needs a few stitches. She presses the gauze back against the cut and turns to Gil.

“You sit here,” she says, gesturing to the seat next to Harry.

“You need to figure out why that spell didn’t work,” she tells Mal, looking over at the first aid kit. Jay moves in front of it, ready to get anything Uma may need from inside. Mal steps back like she's unsure what she can do in the situation.

Carlos comes over to Uma and offers to replace her hands on Harry’s head. Uma glares at him, but he doesn’t back down.

“I know you want to check Gil over, I want to help,” Carlos says, assuring her. She hesitates and can see that Harry is reluctant for her to move away. But she has two crew members she needs to look after right now. Carlos gently slides his hands under Uma’s, and Harry doesn’t so much as flinch. His eyes follow Uma as she moves over to Gil.

“Your ribs right?” He nods, and Uma tells him they need to take his shirt off to assess the damage.

It’s a bigger hassle then she would have liked. Jay comes over and between the two of them, they manage to get Gil’s vest off and are left with his orange undershirt. Uma tries to take it off, but Gil cries out in pain the second he lifts his arms up.

Evie tells them to wait and disappears to her design room. She comes back with a pair of scissors.

“I can fix anything, don’t worry,” she assures at Gil’s alarmed look. Uma steps to the side to allow Evie access to Gil’s shirt.

When the cloth is pulled away Uma can see the damage across Gil’s ribs. There are bruises purpling all across his chest, with small cuts and scratches obviously made from Gaston’s rings. It’s bad, but not as bad as it could’ve been. It’s not as bad as Uma has seen on Gil before. She notices bruises blooming on his arms too, she raises an eyebrow at Gil when she takes a look at it.

“Junior was with him,” he tells her and Uma feels more annoyance growing.

“Where was number three?” she asks, referring to Gil’s other brother.

“I dunno. Wasn’t with them,” he informs.

Next to her Harry makes a noise. She had been so focused on Gil that she hadn’t looked in Harry’s direction for a few minutes, but she knew that noise. Jay quickly grabs a bin from the corner of the room and shoves it under Harry in time for Harry to throw up all the food he’d eaten that day.

Carlos has one hand still pressed against his bleeding wound but moves his other hand to Harry’s back, which he rubs soothingly.

Uma places a hand on the back of Harry’s neck, trying to offer some comfort. Vomiting with a head injury is not a good sign. Uma thinks that it’s pretty luck Gaston is already in royal custody, cause if he wasn’t she might’ve set out to kill him.

“Uma, I think I should call a Doctor,” Evie suggests. Uma really doesn’t want her to do that. This is her crew, she can deal with it herself. It’s her _job _to deal with it.

“I’m not suggesting you can’t help them, I just think that maybe their injuries are worse then they appear. It’s too risky not to call someone in,” Evie insists. She’s talking like Harry and Gil aren’t even in the room. But Uma also understands the concern, she thinks that maybe Evie might be right.

Next to her, Harry is heaving quietly. She can’t believe this has happened. She can’t believe she _let _this happen.

“No doctors,” he mumbles, his head still tucked down.

“It’s our bes-“ Evie starts.

“No doctors.” He repeats, his voice slightly firmer. But Uma can see his hand trembling. She sees his hook looped into Gil’s belt because obviously, he couldn’t carry it himself.

Mal’s gang are supposed to be trustworthy. Uma is supposed to be able to trust Evie. She hasn’t steered Uma wrong and hasn’t ever lied to her. It’s the right call.

“Call a doctor,” she tells Evie, who nods and grabs her phone. Gil looks up at her surprised and Harry lets out an exasperated ‘Uma’, turning his head towards her.

“I wasn’t asking you what you wanted to do. I’m your Captain and this is what’s happening.” She says firmly.

Harry doesn’t respond, but he does push Carlos’ hand away from his head, putting pressure on the wound himself, hissing in pain as he does so. Uma lets him.

* * *

Apparently, Doc, from the Seven Dwarves, is actually a doctor. And can actually be called in times of medical emergencies.

“Doug gave me his number,” Evie explained, as though that actually explained anything.

Harry is quietly fuming in his seat, adding to the already tense atmosphere of the room. Mal is anxiously glancing between Uma and the boys like she’s waiting for Uma to snap. Honestly, Uma wants to snap. She wants to get up and go and find Gaston and his idiot son and beat them senseless.

Fuck. They were supposed to be safe here. Opening the barrier was supposed to stop their parents from getting to them. The spell was supposed to stop their parents from getting to them. She doesn’t understand why it didn’t work, Gil would’ve wanted it to work.

Doc is looking at Gil’s ribs. After some uncomfortable twists and turns, along with some hushed grunts of pain Doc determines that whilst his ribs are definitely very badly bruised, nothing was broken.

“You’ll be okay, in a um few cre-. Uh weeks. If you take it easy.” Doc promises.

Gil seems pretty confused by the dwarf, but he nods.

Doc turns towards Harry and Uma can see him tense up. She knows he’s not actually angry, but anxious about having a doctor so close to him, so she moves to stand on his other side. Her arm on his back.

Doc reaches up for the gauze and tries to move Harry’s hand away. Harry stubbornly keeps it in place.

“Harry,” she warns. He huffs but lets the doctor move his hand when he reaches for it again. Doc pulls the gauze away and Uma is glad to see that the bleeding has slowed down considerably.

Doc lets out a whistle as he assesses the damage.

“Must, must be pretty painful?” he asks. Harry grunts in response, but Doc is focusing on the injury.

It’s probably some of the tensest minutes of Harry’s life. Certainly the most tense since the barrier opened. Doc cleans the wound carefully and stitches them up as quickly as he can manage.

Harry’s cooperativeness seems to be pretty much contained to grunts and tense gestures. So Uma and Gil end up answering most of the symptom questions Doc asks. At one point Doc reaches up to touch the wound without warning Harry. He finches so bad that he cries out in pain. Uma rubs his shoulder in a way she hopes is assuring.

Doc concludes to the room that he has a mild concussion, and just like Gil, will be okay in a few weeks. Doc recommends that they both take some painkillers, and quickly realises that speaking to Uma is probably going to be the better option.

“Wake him up, every, every two hours he sleeps. And uh. Try icing it for um 20 minutes at a time. If he, if he is sick again please call me.” He says to Uma, taping a bandage over the wound to his head.

“Thank you so much, Doc. Let me walk you out,” Evie says, helping him clean up his materials.

The room watches them in silence and says nothing until they are out of sight.

“I think imma head upstairs and lay down for a bit,” Harry informs her quietly. All of his tense energy has deflated now that Doc has left and he just looks exhausted. Uma is going to ask him if he needs help, but stops herself, already knowing the answer. She nods at him.

She looks up at the rest of the room, and everyone starts to quickly make themselves busy. Mal finds her nails incredibly fascinating and Jay and Carlos trip over themselves to start tidying the rest of the room. Evie walks back in and immediately starts packing up the first aid kit.

Harry stands slowly and wobbles a little, but keeps himself up. Gil stands up next to him, clearly planning on following him upstairs.

Uma doesn’t really know if Harry wants her upstairs, doesn’t know if he’s genuinely upset with her for letting a doctor look at him. She thinks that even if he is, he can get over it. She’s their captain, of course, she is going to follow.

Evie gasps loudly and they all look at her. Evie is staring at Jay who is holding her picnic basket from a few days ago.

“The enchanted lake,” Evie says, her eyes darting from Mal to Uma. Mal’s eyes widen in realisation, but Uma doesn’t understand what they just realised.

“What do you mean the enchanted lake?” she demands.

“The enchanted lake washes away enchantments and curses. It’s what stopped Jane from Audrey’s sleeping curse.” Mal explains and _oh_.

“So you’re saying that when we went swimming the other day, we just washed away our protection spells?” Mal nods regretfully. Uma feels a flash of anger at Mal, if she already knew this, then she should’ve thought of it when they were at the lake. Should’ve made sure they were protected.

“Wonderful,” Harry mutters, a bitter tone to his voice. Mal looks at him, and then back to Uma.

“First thing tomorrow, we can cast the enchantment on everyone who swam in the lake. We’ll be safe here for the night,” Mal promises. Harry turns and goes upstairs, Gil following closely.

Uma turns to follow and Jay tells her he’ll bring her some food later. She nods and quickly goes after them.

Inside their bedroom, there are two beds pressed against the wall. Though the room originally had one, Evie quickly got a second one put in when they are realised that the pirates stay would be a little more permanent then they originally thought. She offered a third bed but was assured it wasn’t necessary.

The nights are spent sharing beds in a nonspecific pattern. Sometimes only two of them share, sometimes all three pile into the same bed. It’s a routine that works well and makes Uma feel like home.

Harry stalks into the room and flops onto the closest bed. He doesn’t change, just falls on top of the covers, his head tucked into his arms.

Behind him, Gil tries to change out of his pants, struggling to reach down with the pain in his ribs. Eventually, Uma takes pity on him and helps him change into a pair of sweatpants that she pulls out of their mostly empty cupboard.

He thanks her softly and crawls into bed next to Harry, under the covers. He slowly moves his right arm up behind his head, allowing Harry to crawl against him in the middle of the night if he wishes.

Uma sits at the end of the bed and takes off Harry’s boots for him. Uma has failed so spectacularly at keeping them safe today, that Uma knows she won’t sleep at all. She won’t be able to think of anything beyond trying to protect them.

Uma used to have a crew that strikes fear into everyone around them. One that used to be so strong that even their parents avoided picking fights in public, out of fear that the wharf rats would appear behind them and defend each other. Uma used to have a strength that kept them all safe.

Now, suddenly they were being attacked in broad daylight. They weren’t considered a threat anymore. _When did that even happen? _

There is power in numbers, and Uma’s crew is really only 3 members. 6 if you considered Jonas, Desiree and Bonny back on the Lost Revenge. That’s not high enough to keep each other safe.

She thought that they were all safe now, hadn’t even considered that maybe they were in danger still without her huge crew. Crap, she hadn’t even thought about how protected her crew members on the ship were. Were they in danger without her there?

There is safety in numbers, and she doesn’t have enough numbers anymore. 

* * *

Uma spends the next three days alternating between extreme concern and extreme anger. It’s surprising everyone that Uma hasn’t yet snapped and gone after Gaston herself. But every time she looks over at Gil or Harry the thought of leaving them for too long makes her feel sick.

Gil’s movements have been stiff and rigid. He alternates between not wanting to move at all, and gasping in pain because being idle is making him restless.

Harry’s not much better. The bruise on his face has become even more pronounced, and the stitches make Uma cringe to look at. Waking up the day after Gaston’s attack brought on an onslaught of headaches that Harry hadn’t been prepared for. He’s been up in their room, doing the only thing that has been actually offering him refuge from the pain- sleeping.

In amongst their pain, Uma has been trying to take comfort in knowing that the enchantment has been placed back on them. That for the moment, and especially in this house, they were safe from those trying to hurt them.

It’s been a painful few days, for the boys to experience and for Uma to watch. She hasn’t so much as left them alone for more than a few minutes at a time, far too anxious that in her absence their injuries could get worse.

On day four, Mal comes into their room sometime after lunch and invites her to go and visit Ben with her.

“I just thought that maybe you’d like some fresh air,” she says with an unconvincing smile. Most of Uma doesn’t want to go. She wants to stay here when she can watch over Harry and Gil as they recover.

She looks over at Harry whose sleeping in one of the beds, curled in on himself as tightly as he can manage. On the other bed, Gil is watching videos on a laptop, it’s on mute as to not disturb Harry’s sleep. Neither of them are going to move for hours.

She needs to know if they're safe from Gaston. 

* * *

On the way to the castle, Uma notes that Mal doesn’t tell her why she’s visiting Ben. But she’s also dressed in her Isle leather rather than an Auradon dress, so she assumes it’s not a formal meeting.

When they get to the castle, Mal doesn’t wait for anyone’s permission to enter. Instead, she walks through the castle and past all the guards with her chin up. She enters Ben’s office with a quick knock on the door. It’s not unlike how she carried herself on the Isle, so Uma’s not unused to it either.

Inside Ben’s office, Ben is talking to his parents. It seems like an informal discussion; Beast is leaning against Ben’s desk casually, and Ben and Belle are seated in the two armchairs facing the desk. They are drinking tea, and there is an air of calm to the room that makes Uma feel uneasy. She doesn’t know any kid on the Isle who gets this sort of calm around their parents.

The three royals look up at Uma and Mal in surprise, and for a moment Uma feels like they are intruding. But Ben’s face breaks out in a huge grin and he stands.

“Mal! Uma! It’s so nice to see you,” he comes over to them and kisses Mal on the cheek, smiling widely at Uma. Apparently, he is just this happy all the time. _Ugh,_ _Auradon_.

“Hi, Ben. Hey Belle, Adam,” Mal greets. Beast nods his head and Belle smiles warmly, standing.

“Good afternoon Mal, Uma. What a lovely surprise,” Belle speaks with such genuine kindness that Uma almost believes that Belle would actually be happy to see her.

“Hi,” Uma responds plainly. Behind Belle, Beast narrows his eyes at her.

“What can I do for you guys?” Ben asks. Mal responds before Uma can ask about Gaston.

“We were around, and thought we’d stop by to say hi,” she says, sitting down in Ben’s seat and picking up his cup to tea, taking a sip. Ben laughs in amusement and sits down on the arm of the chair.

“Well I’m really happy to see you both,” he says, looking between them. “You’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

He adds while looking at Uma. As though he knows that Mal already knows the fact and he wants Uma to know it too.

Mal looks at her and then pats Ben’s leg.

“Also we have had a problem with our VK protection spell. The enchanted lake washed it away the other day.” She informs him.

“Crap,” he curses. “I forgot about the lake.”

So apparently everyone knew about this lake except her.

“So did we,” Mal says solemnly. “But Uma and I have redone the spell on everyone who was swimming. I was thinking we should put up a sign by the lake. So that if any VKs go swimming they know to come and get it done again.”

It’s still weird – hearing Mal speak about protecting and defending people. For so long, Uma’s only interactions with Mal were when they fought, screaming threats at each other in dirty alleyways, as their crews fought to keep them separate. Now Mal was helping keep her safe and keep her crew safe too.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ll make a note for Lumiere.” Ben walks over to his desk and writes a note on a piece of notepad.

There’s a lull of silence as he writes and Uma takes it as her opportunity to ask. She moves forward and stands next to Mal’s chair, her chin titled up as she asks.

“Ben, I was wondering if you knew what has happened with Gaston? I know he was taken into custody a few days ago.” She asks. Belle and Beast visibly tense, and Uma is suddenly reminded that Gaston was their villain. That knowing he was out there was probably one of the things that lead to the creation of the Isle. _Well, shit_.

Ben glances nervously at his parents, before straightening his back. It’s like Uma can physically see him change from Ben to _King Ben_.

“This morning I was informed that he is being transferred into our new rehabilitation facility in the Summerlands tomorrow. This is his third warning since the barrier came down, so he’ll be there a while.”

Uma wishes that his words brought her comfort. She wishes that knowing that he was locked away brought her some peace of mind, but just thinking of Gaston makes her blood boil. She nods.

“And Junior?” Ben hesitates slightly, and it makes the hair on the back of her neck stand.

“This was his first warning. At the end of the week, he’ll be let out of the dungeon and hopefully, he’ll head back over to the Isle.” It’s wishful thinking, and Uma can tell that Ben knows that too. Gaston Junior will disappear and lick his wounds, before coming after Gil even harder than before.

Beast scoffs loudly, and everyone looks at him in surprise. Belle moves towards him and puts a reassuring hand on her husband’s arm. He shrugs it off, looking at Ben.

“He’s just going to hurt someone else,” Beasts warns. And he’s probably right, but there is something about his tone that makes Uma feel defensive.

“Dad. I can’t lock away every VK that gets into a fight. We have processes now. Ones that make rehabilitation a priority.” Ben argues. The fact that they have processes is so important to Uma, to know that she won’t be locked away if she steps out of line once, feels like such a relief. But this isn’t about her, it’s about Gaston Junior, and him being out on the street does make her nervous.

“You’re putting so many people at risk every time you let someone out of those cells,” Beast insists. Uma frowns because while she agrees about Junior, she doesn’t necessarily agree with that.

“Dad, we’re supposed to be offering everyone from the Isle a second chance. It’s not easy to shake away their old habits,” Uma hates that Gaston Junior helping his dad beat up his younger brother is being referred to as a _habit_.

“Ben’s right. The Isle follows you. Sometimes it’s hard to escape that part of you that thinks you’re supposed to do bad. Maybe with Gaston at the rehabilitation centre, his son will use it as a chance to consider who he wants to be.” Mal says to Beast, almost casually.

Uma knows that Mal doesn’t know Junior very well, and also knows that she isn’t necessarily advocating for Junior, but all the VKs. Beast has such a skewed opinion of who they are meant to be, that Mal has to use every opportunity she can to talk about how they can actually be good. Even still it frustrates her, Uma knows who Gaston Junior is. And she knows he’s someone who won’t stop until he gets what he wants.

“Mal,” Beast starts, almost condescending. “I mightn’t have been right about all the VKs, but I know Gaston. I know who he is. And who he is, is a bad man who doesn’t stop till he gets what he wants, no matter who it hurts. He would’ve raised his children the same way. Gaston’s children are not good people, and maybe _they _don’t deserve a second chance.”

Beside him, Bella makes a face. Uma feels like all of her rage towards Gaston and Junior bubbles over.

“Excuse you,” she retorts. Beast looks at her in surprise. “I don’t care what your history is with Gaston. Don’t _presume_, to act like you know how his kids were raised. Or what type of people they are. Gil is nothing like his brothers.”

Gil should never be lumped in with his piece of shit _family_.

Instead of recanting his statement, Beast doubles down.

“Even if you think your friend isn’t like that, you don’t know. Uma I’ve been around a lot longer than you, and sometimes, it’s just not worth the risk.” He says calmly.

“Adam,” Belle says quietly. He looks down at her confused and Uma feels so angry. He’s talking about _Gil_, one of the most loyal people she has ever met. Someone who has protected her and her crew time and time again, someone who has never hurt someone without good reason.

“Gil is not a risk,” she spits. “None of us are risks.”

She looks over at Ben as she speaks, needs him to hear this too. Needs him to know that they not a threat to Auradon; that the barrier doesn’t need to be reopened.

Mal rises from her chair and stands next to Uma, a hard expression on her face as she stares down the previous King.

Ben moves around his desk, to stand between the two groups. Beast sighs like he’s talking to children who refuse to see logic.

“I didn’t mean it like that. But you have to know that there are dangers now in Auradon, dangers that didn’t exist before. There are people here now who were taught to value evil, and that’s dangerous. Dangerous to everyone in Auradon.” He says to Uma. As though she and Mal weren’t raised on the Isle, as though they didn’t both grow up on streets surrounded by people who were dangerous.

“It’s not our fault we were raised like that,” she says, her voice wavering slightly. “We didn’t ask to be born on the Isle. We didn’t _want_ to fight to survive! But it’s not like we had much of a choice! _You _were the one who left us there. Don’t even try and convince yourself otherwise.”

Mal reaches out and grabs her hand, and Uma lets her. It’s a sign of solidarity in front of a man who refuses to see that maybe he is wrong. Ben stands between them silently, a sad expression on his face. An expression that Uma knows is because he knows the problems the VKs face. Because he actually put the effort into learning about them.

Beside Beast, Belle’s expression is heartbroken. Like she can’t even stomach hearing the reality of living on the Isle.

“We did what we had to do for the people of Auradon,” Beast says slowly.

“What about the kids of the Isle? Or do they not count as a part of your kingdom? Do you even know what it was like to grow up there?” Uma always knew that the people of Auradon didn’t care about them. Didn’t care what happened to them as long as they were safe in their precious castles. Still, it hurts to hear it, hurts to know that she and her crew were not important enough to be protected too.

She’s so angry that she can feel tears threatening to spill. But she wouldn’t give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her cry, so she certainly wasn’t going to give King Beast it either.

“I came here because I wanted to hear that Gil was safe from his father. Are we safe from you?” she asks accusingly. Beast’s face goes slack, and his expression is blank.

Growing up, if Uma had done something wrong Ursula would make her face go slack, an attempt to get Uma calm before she would erupt in rage. Uma isn’t interested in seeing what Beast will do once he thinks she’s calm, so she pulls her hand from Mal’s and runs from the office.

Distantly, Uma hears Mal call her name, but she ignores it.

The people of Auradon are never going to see the VKs as anything more than evil kids. She can’t trust that Auradon guards will keep them safe if they don’t see them as anything more than villains. The only person that will make sure that Gil and Harry are protected is Uma. The best way to get protected is to surround herself with more people, loyal people.

She needs her crew back.

* * *

When Uma returns to Evie’s cottage, Dizzy and Evie are sitting in the living room organising coloured material that is spread out across the floor. They look up at her in surprise.

“You’re back early,” Evie notes, concern lacing her voice. After her encounter with Beast, Uma doesn’t have the patience to try and be nice.

“Where’s Jay?” she asks. Evie raises a perfect eyebrow and gestures to the backyard. Uma nods and heads outside.

Carlos and Jay are practising fencing, and Uma is surprised to see that Gil and Harry have made their way outside as well. They are sitting on the ground, heckling Carlos and Jay, yelling out tips and insults interchangeably. It looks like a good way to spend an afternoon, but Uma’s on a mission.

“Jay. I’m heading to the Isle. You coming?” Jay and Carlos let their swords fall, and everyone looks at her in surprise.

“Captain-“ Harry starts and Uma cuts him off quickly.

“Neither of you are coming to the Isle injured.” She says with a glare. Gil nods quickly, and Harry holds her gaze for a moment before nodding too. It’s a testament to how much their injuries are bothering them, that they don’t argue.

“Yeah I’ll come, we can take the bikes.” Jay agrees, handing his sword to Carlos. He heads around to the front of the house to get the bikes that Ben replaced after Harry and Gil crashed their last ones.

“What business do ye have on the Isle captain?” Harry asks, squinting up at her. Uma hopes the squinting is because of the sun, and not because his head is bothering him.

“Just need to visit the ship. Don’t worry about it.” She assures.

* * *

When Uma and Jay drive their bikes up to The Lost Revenge, Uma is pleased to hear Jonas’ voice echo across the docks.

“Captain on deck!” He yells climbing down from the rigging as she and Jay climb aboard. Bonny and Desiree appear from below deck wide grins on their face, as they greet their captain.

They are dressed better then Uma has ever seen, their clothes are free from holes and actually look warm. Evie has obviously been making the rounds with as many VKs as she can.

But even with new Auradon clothing, they still look like themselves. Jonas is still wearing red leather, but it’s now brighter, and Bonny’s fishnet shirt looks the same, though now hole free. Even Desiree looks more comfortable, her purple poet shirt free from stains for the first time ever.

Just like their clothes, the ship itself also looks good in a way Uma hasn’t seen before. She notes as much, and they all grin at her bashfully.

The Lost Revenge still is her decrepit old ship, but Uma can see the steps her crew has made to start fixing it now they have access to Auradon materials. Rotted wood has been contained and the jagged wood splintering from broken rails has been sanded down slightly. It’s by no means perfect, not yet, but it is still hers.

“I wanted to let you know that we’re going to move the ship to Auradon soon.” She informs, their eyes light up in excitement, and Uma feels a tinge of guilt for not bringing the ship over sooner. In her peripheral she can see Jay walking around the ship, inspecting it in a way he probably hasn’t had the chance to before.

“I also wanted you all to know that I’m going to get the rest of the crew back.” Their excitement morphs into confusion.

“You think Harriet will let them go?” Bonny asks leaning back against the deck rails. Desiree crosses her arms across her chest and Jonas has a thoughtful expression on his face. Behind them, Jay looks up briefly but doesn’t look surprised.

“Harriet doesn’t have to let them do anything if I take them.” Uma points out.

“Do we even want them back Uma? They’re disloyal and abandoned ship the first chance they got.” Desiree also snarls, clearly still angry at their ex-crew members.

“Sometimes it’s not about loyalty. I know that some of them probably did what they thought they had to do.” Jonas scoffs.

“That doesn’t mean I’ll ever trust them the same way I trust the crew who stayed,” she assures. “But right now I don’t want to be picky. We need a crew, and I’d like _my crew_ back”

They have some more back and forth before her crew agrees that they need more members, and getting them back from Harriet Hook is the fastest way to get them.

After some more arguing, it’s decided that Bonny and Jonas should come as backup to Harriet’s ship. Adding to the backup Jay was already providing.

“Uma before you go; there’s scuttlebutt amongst pirates lately… Harriet has taken control of the Jolly Roger.”

* * *

The three pirates (and Jay), trek through the Isle towards the Northernmost docks, where the Jolly Roger is docked. Harriet being in charge of her father’s ship changes the stakes a lot. It means that her crew is a far bigger threat then Uma had initially considered. But she has never been one to back down from someone bigger than her, and there is no way she was starting that now. Not when the safety of her crew was at stake.

The Isle feels different now. Unsurprisingly many areas on the Isle have been completely abandoned, now that the option of living somewhere actually safe and clean is an option. It kind of makes the Isle seem even more intimidating, at least before when the streets were filled with too many people all screaming and shoving at each other there was noise. Now there is a haunting silence that fills the streets, one that has all of them proceeding with caution.

At some point Uma spots a bright building, she hasn’t seen before, it contrasts vividly with the dark buildings surrounding it. As they approach Uma notices the title and feels ill. _‘Auradon’s tour of the Isle of the Lost’_.

An Auradonian has bought the empty building and is using it as a base to sell tours of the Isle. Her home has become a _tourist attraction_ for prissy Auradon royals. As though paying money to come to visit a place where kids had to fight over food, and hide from their parents was an exciting thing to do.

Uma hopes that there is not ever another child who is forced to grow up on the Isle, but she’s glad she wasn’t raised in Auradon. Glad she wasn’t raised to be the type of person who thought it would be okay to sell tickets to come and visit a place of trauma.

Jay growls at the building as they walk past, and Jonas picks up a stray rock and throws it through the front window. It’s the least they deserve, Uma thinks as they run off, before the owner comes out and spot them.

She shakes her head to refocus. Harriet Hook is notoriously a tough captain and Uma can’t afford to be unfocused when she visits.

By the time they come in view of Jolly Roger, Uma’s stomach is doing front flips. She notices ex-members of her crew across the ship; Gonzo sweeping at the stern of the ship, and Valerie tying knots for the riggings. Neither of them spots her but Harriet does. She’s standing up at the ships helm, her hands on the wheel staring her down.

Just like the Lost Revenge, Uma can see the repairs that have been made to the ship. The places where Auradon wood has filled in holes made by canons years before. It looks polished, but it always has.

“Oooh everybody look! Captain Uma has graced the Isle with her presence once again.” Harriet calls across the ship, her accent as thick as her brothers. Harriet jumps down from the helm, and Uma thinks she’s gotten taller since they last saw each other, probably just as tall as Harry now. She saunters over to them, swinging her red coat back as she walks, flashing her sword at them.

She leans over the railing of her ship and tilts her head to the side, grinning her Cheshire Cat smile.

Uma feels angry at Harriet for stealing her crew, but she’s also understanding. She understands why they left, on the Isle you need protection and Harriet could offer them more protection then her absence could. But now her crew needed protection, so she is going to take them back whether Harriet likes it or not.

“To what do I owe the pleasure,” she purrs, eyes glinting at Uma the same way that Harry’s do whenever he can see trouble coming. Uma hates that the Hook siblings are so similar.

“I’m here to negotiate,” Uma says strongly. Harriet giggles maniacally.

“You came to negotiate with lil old me?” she asks, gesturing to herself. “What could I possibly have that you would want Uma?”

As she asks, Harriet leans back and peers around to her ship. She’s trying to show off how powerful her crew has become in Uma’s absence, and frankly, Uma is getting annoyed.

“I’m not interested in games Harriet. Are you willing to talk to me or not?” Harriet pouts dramatically, but sighs.

“Very well Uma, you and your crew may come aboard,” her words curl around the word crew in a way that makes Uma’s blood boil.

They climb aboard the ship, and Harriet gestures for Uma to follow her into the Captain’s chambers. Uma follows after her, and just before they enter Harriet stops and turns around.

“Make sure they don’t get into any trouble,” she tells Big Murph nodding to the members of Uma’s crew. Murph nods like it’s his life mission, and Bonny rolls her eyes at him.

Inside her chamber, Harriet takes a seat behind her desk and throws her legs up on it. Where Ben often looks small and overwhelmed behind his desk, Harriet just looks powerful and in control. Uma refuses to be intimidated and stands in front of the desk.

“What can I help you with?” Harriet asks, almost bored now that they are alone.

“I’m here to barter the return of my crew,” Uma informs. Harriet looks mildly surprised.

“And why would I let that happen?” Harriet asks curiously.

“Because if you don’t you look threatened by a crew that doesn’t even have a third of the members your does.” Harriet purses her lips.

“Yes, I did notice Jay out there. You and Mal finally got over all that sexual tension and join forces?” Harriet shakes her shoulders and grins. She’s trying to create a rise out of Uma.

“We had similar goals,” Uma explains. Harriet nods.

“Yes well, you did get the barrier open so I will give you that.” Uma is glad that people on the Isle recognise that it was her plan to open the barrier, not just Mal’s. “It’s only because of that, that I am even allowing this conversation.”

Uma resists the urge to roll her eyes. Hooks are temperamental on the best of days.

“So why now? Why come only come for you crew weeks after your return?”

“I’ve been busy. Sorting things out for some of the VKs in Auradon. But I’m ready to come back to my ship now,” Harriet narrows her eyes at Uma like she doesn’t believe her.

“What happened?” Uma keeps her expression neutral.

“Nothing happened.” Harriet takes her legs off the desk and leans forward.

“Uma you seem to have forgotten, I’ve known ya just as long as my little brother. That doesn’t mean a lot, but it does mean that I know you’re lyin to me right now. Tell me what happened and I’ll see what we can do about your crew.” She promises.

Uma and Harriet have always had a strange relationship. One built on their mutual distrust of each other as Captains of different ships but also built on the same fierce protectiveness of Harry. Harriet Hook is a lot of things, but she has never lied to Uma.

“There is safety in numbers, and my numbers are low right now.” Harriet doesn’t look impressed.

“Did something happen?” she asks again.

“Yes, it did.” Harriet does a good job at schooling her expression. But Uma can see it, see the part of Harriet that wants to ask about her brother. They both know she won’t.

“Very well. I will let your crew return to your service. If you win them back.” Harriet smirks. It’s Uma’s turn to narrow her eyes.

“What do you wager we do?”

“I’m thinking a good old fashioned ship battle. We lay out our terms now and meet on the water in a week. Whichever ships remains gets to have your crew.”

Uma considers this, considers how many people she has to run her ship, and considers how many people Harriet has. The odds are not good, but she then she thinks of Harry and Gil. Thinks about how neither Uma or Harriet have had a chance to sail their ships yet, and this might be her only chance to get her crew back.

“I need two weeks, not one.” Harriet raises an eyebrow.

“Why’s that?” she asks, unconvinced.

“Because something did happen. And it happened to Harry and Gil. They need more time to recover before they’re sent into battle.” Harriet’s eyes widen. Playing the Harry card is a dirty move, but it’s one she’s willing to play if it means that she can make sure her boys are okay.

Harriet nods.

“Very well.”

They set out the terms for battle. 

* * *

Two days later, Uma sails The Lost Revenge away from the Isle, through Auradon Bay and into Belle’s Harbour. Harry is her navigator, so she makes sure both he and Gil are aboard for the journey.

When she informed them of the battle with Harriet’s crew they both light up in excitement; eager to finally get the chance to show off the pirates they could be. Mal’s crew doesn’t have the same positive reaction when they find out. Mal seems particularly concerned with challenging Harriet’s crew.

“You don’t have to come,” Uma snipes defensively. Mal scoffs.

“Of course I have to come.” She says. “Someone has to make sure your ship doesn’t end up at the bottom of the ocean.”

And suddenly her crew has ten bodies in this fight, and while that still didn’t compare to Harriet’s crew it was better than six.

Departing from the Isle is easy, and the trip doesn’t take very long, but still, it means everything. Commanding her own ship feels like she’s finally in the place she was meant to be. Looking at Gil and Harry grins on both their faces, she can tell they both feel just as alive as she does.

The water pushes the boat gently, and it almost sounds like its singing to her as the ship glides through it. The way it sways feels comforting and powerful.

“Belle’s Port’s in sight Captain!” Desiree calls from the crow's nest. From up in the rigging Bonny cheers loudly. Jonas and Harry echo her cries and it makes Uma feel warm.

She steers the boat safely into the dock and calls for Jay to drop the anchor. Suddenly for a brief moment, Uma feels so grateful for Mal. So grateful that she opened the barrier and allowed Uma the chance to feel like this. Feel this sense of accomplishment. Uma got to actually captain her ship, and it feels like one of the most important things she could ever do, even if it’s not.

Waiting on the docks are two Auradon guards, Uma jumps off the ship to meet them quickly. Mal pushes past her.

The guards immediately bow when they see their future queen and she waves them up with her hand.

“What seems to be the problem?” she asks. Uma hesitates behind her.

“Sorry, ma’am. We thought this was a pirate ship.” One of them apologies.

“It _is _a pirate ship.” Uma mumbles. Mal holds her hand up to silence her.

“We have special permission from the King to dock this boat in Belle’s Harbour. I can call him if you like?” she asks reaching for her phone. The two guards share an uncomfortable look.

“That’s fine, you don’t need to bother the King. We’ll be our way.” The other guard assures, hauling her partner off.

Uma and Mal watch them go silently before climbing back aboard. The rest of the crew has gathered on deck awaiting instructions from their captain. Mal’s gang are there too, but Uma focuses on her pirates, noting that Harry and Gil are waiting in the back.

“Alright,” Uma calls gaining their attention. “We have a week and a half to get battle-ready. Bonny, I want you to focus on our sails. Take them all down, make any repairs that need to be made. Let me know if we need any more material, and Evie and I can sort that out.”

Bonny offers Uma a sloppy salute, and Uma turns to Jonas.

“I need you to take stock of the ship. I want to know everything we have onboard, and I want you to tell me anything else we need. If we need more food, blankets, swords, anything. I want to know,” she instructs. Jonas nods seriously.

“Desiree. You’re still in charge of weapons. I want all our swords sharpened and polished.”

Uma hesitates for a moment, before continuing.

“Now that we’re in Auradon, I don’t want you guys sleeping on the ship if you don’t want to. The VK House is up and functional, and I can make sure you all have a bed and a hot meal there.” She hopes she sounds strong and assuring. Hopes that none of them can hear the tinge of fear to her voice, fear that they will abandon her too.

“Think I’d feel better sleeping on the sea for the moment Captain,” Bonny says after sharing a look with Jonas and Desiree. The other pirate's nod in agreement. Uma grins at her crew and dismisses them to their jobs. She turns to the remaining people.

She can see that Harry looks paler than when they set sail, and that Gil’s breathing is more laboured.

“You two. Go to the captain’s quarters- rest. Neither of you are any help to me injured,” Harry looks ready to protest, but Gil grabs his arm and pulls him away. They disappear and Uma turns to see that Jay, Carlos, Evie and Mal are all standing on the deck watching her.

She looks at Mal, unsure what they are waiting for.

“Ready to take orders Captain,” Mal offers with a grin. Uma fights the grin that tries to appear on her face.

“Let’s show you land-lovers what hard work really looks like then.”

* * *

Preparing the Lost Revenge for battle, grounds Uma in a way she has never experienced before. She feels at home aboard the ship and offers it the love that it always deserved, but the Isle never allowed.

The deck is polished and Mal repaints the name on the side of the ship. Meanwhile Evie and Bonny work together to patch the sails. What was once dirty and ripped, now is white and solid. They draw the mast together and Evie squeals in delight when the ship sails bellow down. The sound of the wind is loud and Uma can’t help but join in their laughter.

Carlos, Harry and Gil commit to fixing small repairs on the ship. They clear out wood rot and replace broken planks with fresh ones. The pieces of her ship re-join themselves and, the Lost Revenge looks more like a pirate ship then it ever has. It feels fitting that even her ship gets an opportunity for a better life now that the barrier is down.

Mal and Jay assist Desiree to prepare the weapons for the fight. Swords are sharpened and they start routinely practising with the crew on deck. It feels like progress, but Uma’s still worried about their numbers. 10 is nothing compared to Harriet’s 25. It doesn’t feel like enough, and Uma knows that Harry and Gil can tell too.

Five days before the planned battle, Uma is sitting below deck, planning out her fight strategy, when Gil comes and takes a seat next to her.

“Uma,” he says.

“Yes Gil,” she responds not looking up from her notes.

“I just wanted to..” his voice trails off unsurely. “I wanted to say thanks for looking after me and Harry after what happened with my dad.”

Uma looks up at him.

“You’re my crew, Gil. Of course, I looked after you. That’s my job as your captain.” She assures.

“I know. I just wanted to tell you that I’m grateful and I know Harry is too. You look after us Uma, no one else does that.” Uma feels her bottom lip tremble, Gil himself looks overwhelmed by his words. Looking down at the table instead of at her.

“You are Harry are loyal. Loyal where no one else is,” She says, trying to explain to Gil that no matter what _of course_ she would have their backs. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t stop your dad from getting to you.”

Gil laughs without humour.

“I don’t think anyone but Ben’s dad has ever been able to stop my dad from getting what he wants Uma. That’s not your fault,” Gil looks up at Uma, and there is a sincerity in his eyes that makes her heart stutter. She reaches out and grabs his hand.

“When I get the crew back from Harriet, he’ll never get near you again. No one will ever even think of crossing the crew of the Lost Revenge okay? I promise.” Gil smiles at her softly and squeezes her hand.

“I know Uma. I trust you.” The statement is so honest, that it hurts Uma to hear.

The sound of footsteps makes Uma quickly pull her hand from Gils. She looks back down at her notes, as Carlos walks into the room.

“Uma- hey. So I’ve been thinking.” He starts, sitting across from her. It’s not that bold of a move but is certainly one he never would have made back when they were all trapped on the Isle. It makes Uma feel a little proud actually.

“I’m concerned that our numbers are too low to come against Harriet and win.” Uma glares at him. He may be right, but being right and having the audacity to say it are two different things. He shrinks slightly under her stare.

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. I just meant that I- um. I have an idea about how we could maybe even out the odds.” Uma tilts her head in surprise and gestures for him to continue.

“So okay. You remember last year when we fought on your ship and we used those smoke bombs?” Uma hums. “Well I was thinking, we could make some for the battle. Only we can get Mal to enchant them. That way when they explode they can release a sleeping spell. But a temporary one, one that only lasts like half an hour.”

Uma feels oddly impressed by Carlos’ ingenuity. It would certainly work, and doesn’t break any of the pre-agreed terms Uma and Harriet agreed on. They agreed that no one was to get hurt- but sleeping spells don’t really hurt anyone.

“Is it possible to have them ready before the battle?” She asks.

“Yeah, we made the normal ones in a few hours last time. If we start working now, all we need to do is make sure Mal finds a spell in time and enchants them.” Uma grins at him and nods.

“That sounds like a good plan Carlos, thanks.” Carlos grins back and stands to leave. He pauses before looking between them.

“Uma- um. I just wanted to let you know that I think it’s pretty cool what you’re doing. I know that everyone knows how horrible my mother was back on the Isle, so the fact that you are working so hard to make sure other VKs feel safe is important. It- it feels important. It’s comforting to know that it’s not just the four of us against the world.” Uma’s smile fades a little.

“No one else is going to look out for us Carlos.” She reminds him softly.

“I know,” he says sadly.

* * *

After a day of planning and preparation, Harry appears and tells her he has something incredibly important for her to see.

She follows him off the ship, and he takes her down next to the dock. They walk across the beach for a few minutes until they come across a small shallow of water that opens into the ocean. It’s hidden away from the world, blocked between Uma’s ship and an abandoned area of the beach that was marked off by jagged rocks. Harry tells her to take off her shoes, pulling his own off, before walking into the shallow water.

Uma looks at him confused but obliges. He sees the confused look on her face and grabs her hand pulling them further in until the water is up to their knees.

“If we don’t move, the fish swim around us.” He tells her, looking down at the water. Uma looks down at the water and watches patiently as small brightly coloured fish swim up and around them. The water is blue and clear and the fishes look healthy, and it’s nothing they ever would have been able to see on the Isle. They almost sparkle as they swim in tandem with each other.

Uma looks up from the water and watches Harry as he smiles widely at the water. She watches as his eye follows a particular fish and feels her breath catch when she sees the light in his eyes. It’s a softer side of Harry then Uma is used to seeing, one full of wonder and hope.

“You wanna see something?” she asks softly. He looks up at her curiously, as Uma leans down to the water.

She takes a deep breath and sings a small melody, blowing it into the water.

“La, la la la la la la” she sings. Her voice enters the water and travels through bubbles, rippling in the water. The fish all dart towards the bubbles, and begin twirling around them in excitement. From out in the reef, more brightly coloured fish swim towards them.

She touches the water and urges the bubbles to swim around Harry’s legs before bursting. The fish follow. Harry looks down at the rainbow forming in the water in amazement, and then back up at her with a sparkle in his eye that Uma hasn’t ever seen before.

“That’s… pretty spectacular Uma.” He says, his voice soft. Uma smiles back at him, and they spend the afternoon just revelling in the ocean. Enjoying the clean waters and all the things it has to offer.

At some point, Harry tells her his head is hurting and he goes and sits in the sand. She follows him and takes off her outerwear, leaving it for Harry to guard before she dives back into the ocean. Harry watches her swim for hours and Uma feels so refreshed.

She leaves the water with newfound strength and determination to defeat Harriet.

* * *

Two days before the fight, King Ben boards the Lost Revenge. He’s by himself and dressed casually.

Uma and Harry are sitting on chairs pulled up from below deck, watching Evie and Bonny practice with their swords. No one acknowledges Ben’s presence when he boards, and Uma carefully keeps her eyes forward as he approaches. 

“That’s impressive,” Ben notes, looking at Evie and Bonny. Uma hums in response.

Ben saw them all fight a year ago, back on the Isle. So if he thinks that their sword skills are impressive, they must have really improved. Hearing that makes Uma feel a little more confident.

“Hi Uma, Harry,” he greets the pair. Harry nods at the King but keeps his eyes on the swords. Uma watches as Ben’s gaze lingers on the stitches on Harry’s face. While the bruising has started to turn yellow, the dark stitches are still startling to look at.

Ben catches Uma’s gaze and ducks his head, sitting on her other side.

“Welcome back to The Lost Revenge,” Uma says stiffly, her encounter with Beast the previous week still on her mind.

In front of them, Bonny knocks the sword from Evie’s hand and it clatters to the ground.

“Again,” Evie says, picking it back and standing in position.

“The ship looks good Uma. I’m glad that you were able to fix it up how you wanted.” Ben says sincerely. Uma turns to him.

“Was there something you wanted?” Ben sighs like he has to ask a question he doesn’t really want to ask.

“There are rumours floating around Auradon that you and Harriet ship are about to go to war in a few days.” Uma bites her lip and gives him her most unimpressed look.

“And?”

“And I was hoping that you could reassure me that isn’t happening so that I can tell the council they don’t need to worry about pirate ships attacking each other in Auradon Bay.”

“Wish I could Ben. But Harriet and I have business, and this is how it’s going to be resolved.” She tells him matter-of-factly. Ben’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Is it though Uma? Is putting everyone on both your ships in danger worth it? You put so much effort into making sure the VKs in Auradon are safe. Do you want to risk undoing it all?” Uma narrows her eyes at him in annoyance.

Bonny slips on the deck and falls to the ground. She growls and jumps back up, her sword forward as she swings it at Evie.

“_I _won’t be undoing anything. You’re acting as if Harriet and I are unorganised children who are going to try and sink the other’s ship in the harbour, killing everyone on board.”

“That’s not what you’re doing?” Ben asks confused. Beside Uma, Harry scoffs, offended. 

“We’re Captains Ben. That comes with a little bit of responsibility.” Ben begins to talk, but Uma keeps talking. “But, we’re also pirates. Which means we will be battling to see which ship is stronger. But that doesn’t mean anyone is going to get hurt. Harriet and I have agreed that all crew members shall yield when defeated in combat. It’ll come down to her and I.”

“And you trust Harriet to follow these terms?” Ben asks disbelievingly.

“I do.”

“Why?” he asks confused. Harry breaks his focus and turns to Ben briefly.

“Harriet won’t risk a member of her crew accidentally hurting her brother,” he says blankly.

Uma is so grateful that when Harry made his choice about his crew, he chose her.

Ben still looks confused but considers the statement and nods. They all face forward, quiet as Evie manages to force Bonny back another foot.

“So no one is going to get hurt?” he eventually asks. Uma purses her lips.

“That’s right.”

“Well… I guess that’s okay. But um. Next time though if you’re going to have a ship battle, can you please ask the council first. I think it might offer everyone some ease of mind.” Uma laughs humourlessly.

“Wouldn’t it defeat the purpose of being a pirate if we sought permission every time we wanted to do something, Ben?” Ben laughs in response. A genuine laugh.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“If your council really needs some reassuring, make something up. Tell them that ship battles are a sport on the Isle and it would be culturally disrespectful to forbid us from moving forward.” She offers with a sarcastic smile.

“I might just do that,” he says smiling at her. It’s quiet a moment, before Ben speaks again, his tone softer.

“I also wanted to say that I’m sorry about my dad the other day. He gets caught up sometimes in what he believes and can be very stubborn.” In the corner of her eye, Uma sees Harry give her a look. She hadn’t told either him or Gil of her interaction with Beast, not wanting either of them to worry.

“It’s fine Ben. I knew a long time ago that King Beast wasn’t looking out for any of us,” Ben looks uncomfortable, but doesn’t argue with her.

“We’ve gotta try to be better than our parents,” he says wistfully.

“Yep.” 

* * *

The Lost Revenge sets sail into Auradon Bay at noon, and Uma can feel her heart pounding. It was agreed that their ships were to meet at noon, but they’re pirates and pirates don’t really follow rules. As Uma stares across the ocean, she can see that Harriet thought the same. The Jolly Roger isn’t in sight.

Carlos and Desiree are both perched up in the two ship masts. They have three smoke bombs each- Uma and Mal had decided that any more would risk too much magical energy swirling around on Harriet’s ship. For a boat that has flown before, it really wasn’t worth the risk to Harriet’s crew.

Harry is standing tall on the quarter-deck, guiding the boat. Meanwhile, Jay and Jonas have climbed up into the boat riggings, hidden in the sails, keeping their eyes on the water, searching for the Jolly Roger.

Uma stands on the main deck, her sword already drawn. To her right, Evie and Gil are standing on the front deck, but Mal and Bonny are standing behind her.

Ten is not a high number, but they have a strategy, and right now Uma has to believe that will be enough. She will fight for her crew, fight to get them back and fight to protect them. She’s going to fight for Gonzo, and Valerie, and Stephen and every other member of her crew that Harriet convinced would be better off without the Lost Revenge.

This battle will show everyone in Auradon that Uma is a forced to be reckoned with and that her crew is not to be crossed.

The boat moves forward until they are at the edge of Auradon Bay and the Strait of Ursula. If she turns around, Uma can see the bridge that connects Auradon and the Isle.

She sees it before Desiree cries out her warning.

“Jolly Roger ahead Captain!” she yells.

The Jolly Roger is coming around the back of the Isle, it’s black sails whipping in the wind, and travelling far faster then Uma’s ship. As it moves closer Uma tries to swallow back her nerves, when the size difference between the two ships becomes more apparent.

The Lost Revenge dwarfs in comparison and Uma’s palms feel sweaty.

“Drop the sail!” Uma yells. Jonas and Jay move around above her and pull at some ropes. The mast falls and the boat slows to a stop. _She can come to us_, Uma thinks.

The Jolly Roger is approaching fast, and the ocean slaps against the boat unsteadily. Uma can feel the oceans unrest, echoing her own.

It’s quiet for a moment before a strange noise starts building.

_Scrape, scrape, stomp. Scrape, scrape, stomp. _

Uma looks up alarmed, the members of Harriet’s deck and all staring at the Lost Revenge. They are scraping their swords across the deck and stomping their feet in a pattern. The noise carries across the water and it makes Uma feel small. They are more powerful than her.

Harriet Hook stands taller than the rest of her crew, her red coat billowing in the wind. Harriet’s crew are 25 members tall and Uma doesn’t even know if all nine of hers will follow her command.

_Scrape, scrape, stomp. Scrape, scrape, stomp. _

Uma sends a desperate look up to Harry, whose eyes are focused on the Jolly Roger. He turns to her and offers her his signature smile. The one that when accompanied by that wild glint in his eyes, Uma knows means shit is about to hit the fan. 

Harry’s voice echoes across the sea, louder than the ocean.

“Uuuuuuma. Uuuuuuma. Uuuuuuma.” He chants, echoing their battle cry from the chip shop. The one that they used to chant at the docks anytime someone undesirable came too close to the ship for comfort.

It makes Uma misty-eyed. On the other side of the ship, Uma hears Gil’s voice join in. Her head whips towards him, but he’s facing the other ship with a wide grin on his face.

Above her, Uma hears Jonas and Desiree’s voices join in the mix. And then so does Jay’s, and Bonny’s. Soon their chant is being carried across the ocean, using the beat of Harriet’s crew to enhance their song.

To her right, Uma hears Mal join the chant and suddenly everyone on the ship is calling her name. The war cry of the Lost Revenge surges through Uma and she feels the energy tingle under her skin, not unlike the first time she felt her magic.

She urges the ocean forward, and it splashes heavily against the Jolly Roger.

Harriet doesn’t look fussed. She yells instructions to her crew and can see to small boats being lowered from each side of the ship as it approaches.

“Get ready with those smokes bombs! Harry! Keep the ship steady!” she yells, jumping up the rigging on the side of the boat, to get a better look at the approaching ship.

The two ships are within 15 feet of each other now. Harriet points her sword up at Uma with a grin, bearing her teeth at Uma.

“Let’s go,” she mouths.

“Now!” Uma yells.

The sailboats in the water are about halfway between the two ships and have 3 pirates in each one. Carlos and Desiree take a boat each and throw one smoke bomb down. It explodes in a cloud of turquoise blue. They quickly follow it up by throwing one each at the two masts on Harriet’s ship.

When the smoke clears the pirates are sleeping peacefully where they stood. Uma smirks, satisfied when she sees the look of rage that crosses Harriet’s face.

“Attack!” Harriet screeches. Four pirates from Harriet’s crew swing themselves forward from the rigging and land on the deck of her ship.

“Jay! Jonas! Go!” Uma calls, jumping back from the boat and aiming her sword forward, ready for anyone to come near her.

Sammy Smee steps towards her with a feral grin. In her peripheral, she can see Jonas and Jay swing over to land on Harriet’s ship. She sees Mal and Bonny move against their own pirates, and Uma circles Sammy.

“Smee,” she hisses.

“This is going to hurt Uma.” He spits.

He swings his sword towards her, and Uma catches it with her own, thrusting him back. He stumbles and Uma swings her sword down again, and Smee’s hand slips. He uses his other hand to stabilise his grip, and lifts the sword over his head and swings it back down.

Uma jumps back, and he falls forward. She kicks her foot out, hitting him square in the chest, and as he falls Uma hits his hand and his sword falls to the ground. He cries in pain, and Uma presses her sword against his neck. He glares at her.

“I yield,” he snaps. Uma grins and turns around, ready for her next opponent.

She can see that Harriet has placed two wooden planks between the ships, and the pirates are using it as a bridge. There are more pirates on her ship right then, then there are on Harriet’s, and she is surrounded by the sound of sword clashes and screeches.

Uma spots Harriet on the other ship, Jonas is fighting her but Uma knows that it won’t last long. The battle is always going to come down to her and Harriet.

She needs to get over there. Uma climbs up onto the rigging, and tries to climb over, but is knocked by Evie who stumbles into her and drops her sword.

Ginny Gothel paces towards Uma with wild eyes.

Ginny slices her sword and Uma barely manages to dodge it, shoving Evie to the side. She uses Ginny’s momentum to catch her off guard and swings the sword in the opposite direction. Ginny’s twists backwards and catches the sword with her own. She pushes forward, and Uma feels her arm tremble under the pressure of Ginny’s sword. She slides her body to the left and lets the sword fall to the side. Ginny falls forward and tries to thrust the sword at Uma, but she dodges and the sword wedges itself into the wood of the ship.

Ginny tries to pull the sword, but it's stuck. Uma quickly presses her sword under Ginny’s neck, with a grin. Ginny glares down at the sword.

“I yield,” she says pitifully.

“Good girl,” Uma responds, pushing her back.

Uma can see that Jonas and Harriet are still fighting. She looks around her own ship; Carlos and Desiree have come down from their perches and are fighting enemy pirates on the deck. Evie and Bonny are standing to the side, along with some of Harriet’s pirates, clearly having yielded. Somehow, Mal has ended up on the quarter-deck with Harry, and they are fighting off a handful of pirates with their backs to each other.

Uma takes a moment to catch her breath and climbs up the side of the ship. She walks across the planks, careful not to slip and jumps onto Harriet’s ship. As she lands, the ocean comes with her, slamming against the boat. Everyone aboard stumbles, except her.

She looks around the ship, and Uma can see the turquoise dust splatters on each end of the ship, obviously the remains of the last two smoke bombs. There are half a dozen pirates passed out on the upper and lower deck.

On the main deck, Jonas is still fighting with Harriet, and Jay is fighting off three other pirates. Uma rushes forward just as Harriet knocks Jonas to the ground, and he slides back two feet. He gasps in pain but is still gripping his sword.

Uma stops next to him and pulls him up by his shirt.

“Go help Jay,” she instructs and turns to Harriet, who grins at her viciously.

“You ready to finish this,” Harriet asks, her voice booming.

“Ready to lose half your crew?” Uma retorts, balancing her sword. Harriet cackles and swings her own sword down. Uma catches it, with a swing of her own, that causes Harriet to stumble.

Uma has spent the last week worried that Harriet would for sure have her beaten in battle. But she’s catching every one of her hits, and it fills Uma with confidence.

The clinking of their swords echoes across the deck and Uma manages to hit Harriet’s hand. Harriet almost drops her sword, but quickly regains her balance. Uma swings forward again, and the sword hacks into the side of the ship as Harriet moves out of the way. Uma swings the sword again and Harriet’s steps back further. _She’s getting the upper hand_.

Harriet kicks out her leg and kicks Uma’s knee with her boot. Uma falls to the ground and tightens her grip on the sword to stop it from falling to the ground. Uma growls, but Harriet doesn’t give her time to breathe and swings her own sword down. Uma catches it with her own, and Harriet towers over her, putting the weight behind her stance.

Harriet is a foot taller then Uma on a good day, and Uma is feeling every bit of her strength.

Harriet reaches down into her coat with her other hand and pulls out a second sword. She presses it against Uma’s already trembling sword, and her arms ache under the pressure. Harriet jolts forward, and Uma’s sword clatters and slides across the deck. She falls back with a cry, but immediately rolls after her sword, just barely reaching it.

Harriet curses loudly and follows.

Harriet swings a sword down next to Uma’s head, and Uma swings around, just catching it with her own sword. Harriet leans all her weight on the sword, and Uma can feel her muscles straining to stay locked in place.

Harriet leans down, her face inches from Uma’s.

“Yield yet?” she asks wickedly. Uma resists the urge to spit in her face.

“Never,” she hisses. The only thing Uma knows how to do is fight. The only thing she has never failed to do is keep fighting. No one else is going to fight for her crew, she has to do it.

Uma kicks her foot and hits Harriet’s stomach. Harriet cries in pain and Uma uses the distraction to force the swords off her and rolls away from Harriet. The only way she is going to win against Harriet is if she catches her off guard.

Uma swings her sword down quickly, but Harriet catches it, a vicious expression on her face. Uma swings her swords again, not giving Harriet time to relax between actions. She attacks ruthlessly, swinging her sword with all the strength she can muster, but Harriet catches each swing with one of her own and starts pushing Uma back a few steps.

Neither of them are grinning anymore, sweat is pooling down their faces, and the stakes of this battle are being felt. Uma aches, but she won’t stop fighting. Below them the ocean slams into the side of the ship, water splashing over them, but Harriet doesn’t take note, maintaining her balance.

They are both breathing heavily, and Uma tries to find a gap in Harriet’s defences when Harriet starts cornering her. Uma feels her back hit the edge of the ship, and she tries to move around but Harriet hacks her sword into the ship, edging it in, blocking her path. Uma tries to bring her own sword down on it, hoping to knock it out of the way, but it remains wedged and Uma slips on the sword.

She barely catches herself before Harriet steps even closer. Uma raises her sword with both hands in defence, and Harriet swings her own sword down on it. Uma wills her arms to stay locked in place as Harriet pushes her weight behind it.

Uma has to fight. Uma has to keep her crew safe, and the only way to do that is to defeat Harriet. She can defeat Harriet.

Her arms tremble under the weight and Harriet pulls her sword back, swinging it down in a quick motion that knocks Uma’s sword to the ground.

“NO!” Uma cries as it falls. Harriet wedges her other sword next to Uma’s head, and they both stand there panting at each other for a moment.

Uma stares into Harriet’s eyes and feels exhausted, the weight on her shoulders feels crushing. Harriet leans forward and places her head on the wall next to Uma’s.

“You lose,” she says.

* * *

Uma’s not sulking. She’s not because sulking doesn’t compare to the utter hatred she is feeling towards herself right now. ‘Sulking’ in no way can describe the twisting in her stomach that won’t go away or the crawling under her skin. Every time she looks are one of her crew members the knot in her stomach hurts even more.

She’s spent the past two days in her cabin on her ship, rather than back at Evie’s cottage with Gil and Harry. She’s trying to convince herself that the forced solitude will make her feel better.

It won’t. She failed and she doesn’t know how to come to terms with the fact that she failed _again_.

She can’t get the looks of her crew out of her head. The looks they gave her when she lost and returned to her ship. She caught Gonzo’s disappointed look when he climbed back onto Harriet’s ship and saw Harry try and give her a reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was looking forward to getting the crew back just as much as she was, and she let him down. Mal and Evie give her fake assurances, offered with perfect Auradon smiles that make Uma angry.

She’s the Captain of her ship, so she will carry the weight of its defeat on her own shoulders. She pushes away her crew members, pushes away the people that she was too weak to protect. Hides in her cabin, so that they can’t see when she wipes her eyes.

She spent a lot of time pacing her cabin, trying to come up with new plans to build the crew. She could always try recruiting Auradon kids, but she doesn’t know how much she can trust Princes and Princesses with her ship.

From inside her cabin, she can hear her small crew move around the ship. She glances guiltily at the empty tray on her desk. Desiree had been routinely bringing her meals, insisting that Uma shouldn’t be skipping food. She wasn’t wrong, so Uma ate it, even if it tasted like ash in her mouth.

She’s yet to hear Harry and Gil’s footsteps board the ship today. They’ve been trying to stick close to her, and she should have anticipated how hard it would be to keep them away. It was harder to look at them then the rest of the crew. Their bruises a visual reminder of her failure. Every time she caught a glimpse of them, it felt like she was being stabbed in her chest.

But it’s not like they knew that, they just knew their captain was hurting and they wanted to stay close. Eventually, she had snapped at them, told them she didn’t want them around. The quick flash of hurt on Harry’s face was enough to convince her it was the wrong decision, but she stayed silent, watching them leave with their heads bowed.

There’s a knock on her door. Not a normal knock, that let her know that Desiree was bringing her more food. Instead, it was incessant and urgent. It wasn’t helping Uma’s already terrible mood.

She swings the door open, a thunderous expression on her face.

“What?” she snaps. Jonas sinks back, his eyes wide. He swallows before speaking.

“Harriet Hook is approaching the ship. Um- Bonny thought I should let you know.” Uma growls. As if she wasn’t already pissed enough, the other ship captain was coming to _gloat_.

Uma put on her hat and slide her sword into the sheath on her belt. She follows Jonas out to the deck and spots Harriet approaching.

She’s walking on foot across the dock, Ginny Gothel walking at her side. Neither of them looks angry or combative, and frankly, that just pisses Uma off even more.

She climbs up on the rigging and hangs over the ship as they approach.

“What do you want?” she calls rudely. Harriet grins up at her.

“Permission to come aboard Captain,” Uma looks over them again; they both have their swords fastened in their sheaths and neither of them looks like they are preparing for a fight.

Even if they were, it’s four against two, odds Uma would take any day. If Harriet’s asking to board it means she wants to talk, if it was just to gloat, she probably wouldn’t waste her time.

Uma gives a quick nod and jumps down from the rigging, folding her arms across her chest, glaring as they climb on.

Harriet stands in front of her, silent for a moment.

“Are you going to invite me somewhere private so we can talk?” she asks indignantly. As though Uma’s very existence is breaking the rules of pirate etiquette.

“No, I’m not.” She snarks. Harriet sighs.

“Very well. Make yourself scarce Ginny,” she instructs.

Ginny walks over to the helm of the ship, where Jonas and Bonny are standing, trying not to make it obvious they are watching the interaction. Once Uma is assured she’s not picking any fights, she turns back to Harriet, expectantly.

“Never thought you were one to gloat,” she remarks. Harriet gives Uma that stupid half-smirk, that looks too much like her brothers for Uma to actually hate it.

“Who needs to gloat? We both know that I beat you.” It hurts, but it’s true. Uma keeps her face blank, waiting for Harriet to get to the point. Harriet sighs again.

“I wanted to let you know that the Jolly Roger is setting sail soon. Me and my crew will be leaving Auradon and the Isle completely.” Uma’s eyes widen in surprise, before they narrow again, annoyed.

“You know I’m not the member of this crew you should be telling if you’re about to disappear on some adventure.” Harriet’s face scrunches up with irritation.

“Anyway,” she says with a huff. “I’m here with a proposition.”

Uma waits patiently for her to continue.

“Our whole lives we have been trapped on that Isle” she starts turning her back to Uma and walking to the other side of the ship, gazing over at the Isle across the ocean. “We’re pirates and we’ve never been able to sail the oceans. We grew up forced to gaze at it in all its glory, but never really reach it you know?”

Uma does know, she understands the longing for the ocean probably better than most. When she first dived in, it felt like she was being reborn. Felt like coming home; safe and warm in a way her real home had never been.

“But that’s not the only thing we didn’t get,” Harriet hisses, clearly feeling as much anger at being locked up on the Isle as she had. “So many kids on the Isle never got to taste warm food before Mal opened the barrier. They didn’t have a place to stay at night that was safe. Lots of them didn’t really get to enjoy school. We had no future so why waste our time? The only way to ensure our safety was to join a gang or a crew because there’s safety in numbers.”

Her hands are resting heavily on the Lost Revenge, as she stares darkly over at the Isle.

“But, Uma. We don’t have to do that anymore,” Harriet says, finally turning to her. Uma doesn’t understand.

“Pirates are who we are Harriet. It’s more than a choice we made, it’s where our families are.”

“That’s not what I meant. Look there are members of my crew who aren’t like us. Who only joined a pirate crew because it was safe, but now that the barrier is opened they want more from life. Uma there are nine members of my crew who don’t want to come on our voyage. They want to stay here in Auradon and go to school. They aren’t ready to leave their homes behind.”

Uma understands that too. The ocean calls to her, but so does normalcy. Mal had spoken to her about going to school, insisted that it felt like a whole new world had been opened up to her.

“God, if we had a good school system on the Isle, we would’ve figured out how to open the barrier years ago,” Mal remarks. It made Uma want to go to school, spend her time learning so that she can become an even stronger Captain.

“So what I’m asking,” Harriet says, pulling Uma back into the conversation. “Is if you have room on your crew for them?”

Uma blinks at her.

“What?”

“Uma, I’m not going to force these kids out into a world they aren’t ready for yet. I don’t think it’s right to force them to go somewhere else they don’t want to. So I’m ending their service with the Jolly Roger. And you’re really the only person in Auradon who I trust to keep them safe.” Uma is so surprised she doesn’t even know what expression is on her face, and Harriet laughs.

“Try not to look so surprised Uma. I’ve trusted you with my brother for years. I know that when it comes down to it if I leave them with you, you will make sure they have food and somewhere to sleep at night. If it’s here or at your VK house, I know you will make sure they are safe.”

Uma bits down on her lip. She won't take the crew out of pity. She is a pirate Captain, and that means she won't consider making herself look weak enough to need Harriet to give her, her leftover crew members. 

But it isn't like that. These kids are going to be left behind whether Uma takes them or not, and years ago Uma decided that she was going to look out for the kids on the Isle that needed looking out for. 

“Thanks, Harriet,” she says sincerely, they both hear the unspoken promise in her voice. The promise to look after her crew no matter what. Harriet offers her a soft smile.

“Didn’t do it for you, Shrimpy,” Uma growls at her, and Harriet grins. She pushes Uma’s shoulder gently and Uma wants to push her back but doesn’t. She’s just given her nine members of her crew, Uma isn’t going to stir the pot now.

“I will send them over here tomorrow. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many of them are from your original crew.” Harriet remarks. Uma’s eyes feel watery, so she stays silent. But her heart slams against her chest happily.

“Ginny, we’re leaving.” Harriet hollers across the deck. Uma starts to walk Harriet back to the dock.

“When do you set sail?” she asks conversationally.

“We’re planning for the start of next week,” Harriet says. Uma bites her lip again, hesitating to speak.

“You should probably say goodbye to Harry before you go,” she says quickly. Harriet opens her mouth, probably to respond with something sarcastic that also tells her that it’s none of her fucking business what she does or does not say to her brother. Uma cuts her off.

“I’m just saying- CJ didn’t say goodbye either.” Harriet’s mouth slams shut. She gives Uma a quick nod before stalking off the ship and disappearing down the dock, barking for Ginny to follow.

* * *

Shortly after Harriet departs, Uma decides she wants to go see Harry and Gil. To fill them in on the good news at least. She leaves her ship with a promise to return soon and begins making the trek to Evie’s cottage.

In her head, Uma starts making plans for her new crew. She’ll have to find out what they’re trained in, see what work they can do on the ship. She’ll also need to talk to Mal about the VK house, see if there are extra beds, in case they don’t all want to sleep on the ship. School starts again in Auradon in a few weeks and Uma knows that Fairy Godmother is working overtime to organise the VK’s at Auradon prep. Serpent Prep and Dragon Hall are going to be opened again, but no one is expecting high attendance. They will both probably be closed before the end of the year.

Uma is so caught up in her thoughts, she almost misses Harry and Gil walking towards her.

“Uma!” Harry calls, and she looks up surprised. They are both looking at her curiously as they approach.

“Where are you two headed?” she asks. The boys share a look.

“We were coming to you,” Harry says.

“We were hoping you might have been up to seeing us,” Gil adds. Uma can see the guarded looks on their face like they are waiting for her to yell at them again. She bites her lip nervously.

“Yeah, I was uh, actually coming to see you two,” They have the decency to try and hide their shock, but Uma still sees it. They are quiet while they wait for her to continue.

“Harriet just came and visited me on The Lost Revenge,” she starts. “The Jolly Roger is setting sail and they’re leaving behind some of their crew.”

Harry’s eyebrows disappear underneath his hair, and Gil looks confused.

“So in a few days we are going to have a complete crew once again,” she says. Gil’s face breaks out into a huge grin, and Harry’s eyes light up. Though they both still looks confused.

“Harriet’s giving you her crew?” Gil asks.

“Not exactly. They are departing service from the Jolly Roger, and Harriet is leaving them in our care. Apparently, we are the only crew in Auradon she trusts to make sure that they don’t get killed,” she tells them smugly. Harry’s face breaks out into a grin too.

“Aye, she’s not wrong about that,” he says with a grin. Uma smiles fondly at them both.

“I’d really like my first mate and quartermaster to be there when I greet them,” she says. And if it was possibly their faces light up even more.

“Aye, aye Captain,” Harry offers formally, giving her a salute with his hook. Gil laughs at him.

“Of course we’ll be there Uma,” Gil says like it’s unthinkable that they would be anywhere else.

The energy radiating between them is warm, and Uma basks in it for a moment. She is so happy that she can protect them again, that her crew is once again going to be a force to be reckoned with.

It’s because of this energy, that she finally takes her moment to apologise to them.

“I think I owe you two an apology,” she says, nervous energy around her. Harry’s grin fades slightly, but Gil’s remains.

“You don’t need to worry about yelling at us Uma, we understand that you were upset. You’d just lost to Harriet-“ Harry hits him in the back of the head. Any other day he would have elbowed him, but Harry is still being cautious of his tender ribs. The reminder of their injuries feels like a bucket of cold water being thrown over her. Suddenly the stitches on Harry’s face looks even more distinct.

“No, not for _that_. I wanted to say that I’m sorry that I haven’t been the best Captain to you both lately.” They both look at her in confusion and share a glance to see if the other understands what she means. They look back at her.

“Uma…” Harry starts are the same time Gil says, “What’re you talking about? You’re great!”

She sighs and looks down at her feet for a moment.

“When I escaped from the Isle, I couldn’t get back in. I abandoned you both in there. And then half the crew abandoned ship because of me, and you both suffered for it.” She swallows, her throat tightening at the though. “I just wanted you to know that what happened with Gaston isn’t going to happen again.”

She speaks with certainty; a certainty that comes from knowing that she is getting her crew back. Form knowing that her crew’s numbers are going to be high enough that no one will even think of coming near them.

“Uma- Gil’s dad being a prick wasn’t your fault,” Harry says, his face scrunched. Uma shakes her head.

“If I still had the crew he wouldn’t have even consi-“

“What’re you talking about?” Harry interrupts. “Gaston has been beating up on Gil long before you got your ship.”

“Yeah, but when I got it, it stopped.” She insists. Harry looks like he’s having a hard time understanding her thought process. She continues speaking.

“And then we went swimming in the enchanted lake and the spell washed away-“

“You didn’t know that was going to happen,” Gil cuts, looking just as confused as Harry. Uma sighs in frustration.

“It doesn’t matter that I didn’t know. It still happened,” she snaps. She sighs, before continuing, her voice softer. “Look I’m the captain okay? That means that you are my responsibility. If something happens to you, that’s on me. So I’m sorry that-“

“Uma!” Harry yells. Uma’s mouth closes in shock. Both Harry and Gil are giving her these incredulous looks like they can’t believe what she is saying. Which is stupid because they both know how much they mean to her.

Harry speaks again, his voice softer.

“Uma. It’s not your fault we got into a fight with Gaston and Junior. I don’t know how it _could _be. Gaston is a piece of work, we all know that. But just cause we got into some trouble, doesn’t mean you didn’t fulfil your role as captain.” Uma’s about to tell him that she _didn’t_ when he keeps talking.

“Uma no. You didn’t mess up. You’re the best captain in all of Auradon and you shouldn’t let the actions of _Gaston_ convince you otherwise,” he insists.

“He’s right Uma. You got the Isle opened. You’ve looked out for us when no one else has. And maybe we got hurt, but we’re always getting hurt. We’re fine.” He’s not talking about just their time in Auradon. Growing up, Uma had always gone out of her way to make sure that her boys had a safe place to be. Time and time again she placed herself between them and danger, and when she couldn’t she made sure that whoever even looked at them wrong got what was coming to them.

Uma doesn’t really know what to stay, suddenly overwhelmed by the unwavering loyalty of them both. She looks down at her feet, desperate to focus on anything that isn’t Gil and Harry’s heartbroken expressions.

“I feel bad that I couldn’t stop it,” she says, her voice breaking as she looks back up. Gil makes a noise of distress in the back of his throat, and Harry is looking her like she’s the only thing that matters in the world, and the fact that she is so sad is one of the worst things to ever happen.

“Please don’t feel bad,” Gil says softly. Harry takes a step towards her.

“Uma- you haven’t ever failed us. You’re out captain. Forever and always, no matter what. That means something okay?” Uma’s still at a loss for words, she doesn’t know how to respond to the loyalty that she doesn’t think she deserves.

She nods slightly, and Harry makes a noise of distress, just like the one Gil made moments before. He steps forward, and cups the back of the head in his hand and pulls her forward into his chest. She goes easily and lets out a sigh when they collide. She holds the hug for a moment, before reaching out blindly for Gil.

Her hand reaches his vest and she tugs, pulling him against Harry’s other side. They stand together for a while, just holding on to each other because they don’t do that enough. She doesn’t show them how much they mean to her enough. Because these two people are her _everything, _and sometimes that’s so overwhelming that her knees tremble at the thought.

When they pull out of the hug, Gil’s eyes are wet and Harry is avoiding eye contact, twisting his hook with his right hand, too overwhelmed by the vulnerability to do anything but wait for instruction from his captain.

Uma clears her throat, trying to blink past her emotions.

“Well then,” she says. “Let’s go prepare the ship for our new crew members then.”

* * *

Her new crew arrives and Uma is so pleased when she sees that most faces are familiar. But there are a few new ones too. When they appear, they all grin and it feels right, no one looks like they are being dumped here. Everyone on her ship is where they want to be.

She helps settle everyone in, finds their strengths and weaknesses on board and ship and sends them to work.

She finds them all beds and shows them where they can get warm food when they like. There’s a relief across the whole group as they find their grounding as crew. It’s new and a little unstable but it’s getting stronger each day they work together and it assures Uma that she’s made the right decision.

In private she plans the next year and a half, most of them will go to school, finish up their shoddy educations to prepare for their eventual voyage. The others will take up trades, learning useful skills so that on the ocean they are as self-sufficient on the ocean as they are on land. It’s going to be a lot of work but it’s a good plan.

A month after the crew of the Lost Revenge comes together, Gaston Junior corners his younger brother in the marketplace. He has an angry expression on his face, and a feral snarl crosses his lips when he spots Gil. But Gil has five other pirates behind him before Junior can even throw a punch, and he cowers in response to the outweighed odds.

It’s one of the most satisfying days that Uma has had in Auradon yet.

**Author's Note:**

> harriet hook is 5ft 10in and i don't know why it's important to me that you know this, but it is
> 
> please let me know what you thought of this fic. did we enjoy more pirates or are we look for more of the core four moving forward?
> 
> i have ideas for this series focusing on belle, and maybe some of the adjustments to auradon prep the VKs have to make, but frankly, it'll be whatever inspiration strikes. I'd love to hear what anybody else would love to read about?
> 
> also this is my first time writing any action scenes so if it doesn't read very well, I apologise. I am working on it 
> 
> comments are the best xxx
> 
> my tumblr can be found [here](http://www.siriuslyrose.tumblr.com)
> 
> hit me up if you wanna talk about the film or this story, i have lots of ideas to share  
xx


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